Questions
by Bittersweet Romanticide
Summary: It was understandable that they had questions, since not many had seen an earthbender like her before, but that didn't mean she couldn't be her sarcastic, fun-loving self while she answered them. Toph centric.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar the Last Air Bender...what a shock, considering I had to do research to find out how to spell their names.**

Well...first time in the Avatar section...hope I don't suck!

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"Yup, I could see you in a tree," Toph confirmed to the group. She sat on a rock, raised above the others that surrounded her like children to a teacher during story time. "I can see every leaf, every caterpillar moving along the branch if I try. See, everything gives off vibrations. Sure, when things get really, really small I can't, like really small bugs, but I can see them when they land on me. I can hear the bird's wings when it swoops down and catches that caterpillar too. You guys are _way _bigger than a caterpillar. I could see you from a mile away! I could pick out a needle in a haystack if I tried. I just have to give a good stomp."

"But there's earth under the water," Katara mused. "You say you can't see there. How does that work?"

"It sorta overloads my senses," she explained. "I can feel every grain of sand on the bottom, every rock and everything's always moving. It's too fast to see and it makes me dizzy. The water's really loud too, and it whips up so much you can't smell anything else. It's a really strong scent and it makes everything else smell stronger too. Then, when I touch it…I'm not used to it. It's got a current and it feels strange on my hands. I don't like it." She shook her hands as if the substance was still on her fingers.

"So can you-?" Sokka began.

"What? Can't I ask any questions?" Toph asked hotly, crossing her arms and narrowing her eyes so furiously anyone would have believed she could see. This was something they would merely have to get used to, though she would rarely make eye contact (and when she did, it was always eerily dead on) Toph was so loud, and so very _there _that it was hard to forget she was technically handicapped.

"Go ahead!" Aang said brightly, beginning to make himself float a bit in his excitement. "Do you want to know anything about water bending or air bending?"

She tapped her chin, looking like she was thoroughly thinking about what she was going to ask. "You're the last air bender, huh?"

"The last we know of," Katara supplied helpfully.

She frowned, as if she was expecting some long winded explanation that would stall them. "Well, that's the only question I have. This sucks. It would probably be a lot easier to do this if I could actually cared about what you guys bend." Toph swung her legs off the rock and to the ground. "So I guess I'm going to bed."

"Wait!" Sokka cried, grabbing her wrist as she stood. If she cared about height, she might have been awfully displeased that he could grab her just fine without even standing."We've got more questions! You can't go yet! I mean, I've been trying to ask you the same question a million times but every single time I try people keep cutting me off! So I'm going to try to ask this one more time, and just this one last time, and if anyone interrupts me, I'm gonna take out boomerang."

"So, Toph," Katara smirked, ignoring her brother who know writhed on the floor like he was being stabbed with a red hot poker.

"Far enough to see the past, to see what it was like when Aang was supposed to be, and what it was like when he vanished. I can see big creatures and their bones that used to be here before we came, and I can feel big rocks, things slow moving like water even deeper." She curled her toes in the ground, letting it slide between her toes. "There's a lot of wars down there. It's better to watch the bird eat the caterpillar."

"What does it look like?" Aang asked, leaning forward. "Not the…the wars, the monsters? Are they like Appa?"

"Big," she concluded, cocking her head to the side. "Very, very big. Bigger than Appa. But I don't know how to explain looks. I don't see like you, and no one sees like me. Even if I found the words, you can't ever _really _understand, just like I'll never understand color or light, not in the way you do, do you get it?"

"That's so sad!" Katara gasped, putting a hand to her heart.

"Sad for _you_, maybe. I might never see a sunset, but you won't ever see the water stuff in the middle of the earth. I won't see a pretty dress, but you'll never feel the earth move deep, deep down like giant, funny shaped plates. It's really cool down there. I would never want to give that up just so I could see some pretty colors."

"But you'll never see the sun!" Aang argued.

She looked every bit imperial as she stood over them, glaring over their heads, having heard this argument too many times before. "But I can _feel _it. From what I've heard, you can't look at the sun either, Twinkle Toes. It'll burn your eyes and make you blind like me. So the best part about the sun, the warm part, I already have. Wanna try again?"

"You'll never see a mount…" Katara blushed and finished weakly with her hand rubbing the back of her neck, "…tain range."

Toph picked up a goot and waved it in her direction with a giggle. "Nope! I can't! But I can feel that a million times farther away and a million times better than you can! You can't tell what kind of rock it's made out of, but I sure can!"

"You'll never get to looks down and see the ground when we fly on Appa," Aang tried. "So you'll never enjoy flying like we do. You'll always have to clutch to Sokka."

"As bad as grabbing onto Sokka is," she began, smirking at the boy she had clutched onto so much earlier. "Grabbing onto Sokka isn't nearly as bad as I would feel trading feeling for seeing. You say I'll never like flying like you do. You'll never enjoy walking like I do. You can't look down like I can. It's got its disadvantages too, I won't lie. I _won't _ever see a sunset or like flying or water. I just like the perks I've got better than what you've got."

"But-" Katara began.

"_Question!_" Sokka screamed, waving his hand. "_I have a question! It needs to be answered before I explode!_"

"Give me a minute, Sokka. I'll answer it in a minute!" Toph snarled, and he quieted. "What if you guys _did _manage to convince me that what you've got it better? How's that going to help? I'll _never _be able to see because my eyes aren't broken. They were never meant to work. You can't fix something you don't have. So, if I do like sight better, I'll never feel glad about what I have anymore." She was about to strike off, but Sokka stopped her again.

"Can I just name one really big disadvantage to prove a point? It's more as a warrior than just your day to day lifestyle," he said. "See, that's been my question all along. I'm not trying to convince you, I'm just curious because you said you see with vibrations."

"Sure, it can't hurt," she shrugged, then paused, taking a step back. "Wait, it's not going to hurt, right?"

"Nope!" Sokka chirped, then swept her up bridal style off the ground. Holding her close, hefting her in his arms and surprised that she was actually quite a lightweight. "Alright, Toph, can you see through my body and all the vibrations?"

"Sokka…are you being a smart mouth?"

"Yeah," he chuckled.

"Two days, and I'm already sure I'm going to learn to hate you Sokka. Put me down."

He chuckled and set her down and she brushed herself off. She glanced back at him, a force of habit from her parents, who demanded that she at least _pretend_ she had her sight. "Yes," she nodded finally. "I think I'll definitely learn to hate you."


End file.
